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Old 05-23-2005, 04:30 AM   #1  
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Default 7 Secrets of Naturally Thin People

I read this article, and some of it I agreed with, and other parts made me angry. Most of the 'secrets' are habits that we are all aiming to adopt - but we know that we will probably always have to work at most, or some of those habits - they are unlikely to become so natural that we stop thinking about them! I doubt that anyone would tell someone with a drink or drugs problem to just copy the 7 secrets of naturally sober/clean people! I'd be interested to see what other people think.........





7 Secrets of Naturally Thin People


Kim Droze
You hate them.

You know the type... the ones who never bat an eyelash when it comes time to order lunch or dinner. Ask them their weight and they probably can’t even tell you - they don’t know it. Question them about calorie count and you’re likely to be answered with a blank stare.

THEY are the men and women who don’t give weight watching a second thought. And that's the very reason they’re at a happy, healthy weight. They are naturally thin people - the enemy to anyone who’s ever battled extra pounds.

But please don't hate them. You too can be one of them, says Dr Dorie McCubbrey, author of How Much Does Your Soul Weigh: Diet-Free Solutions to Your Food, Weight and Body Worries(HarperCollins). The weight issues specialist and professional counsellor has spent the last 15 years helping people explore their weight woes. Dr Dorie, the “Don’t Diet” doctor, has made it her mission to take the focus off the scale and put it on what she calls intuitive self-care. It’s that kind of treatment that she encourages. She tries to steer her clients away from regimented and overly restrictive diets.

The idea, according to Dr Dorie, is to emulate the way a naturally thin person thinks. For starters, the world doesn’t revolve around the number on the scale.

“Sometimes we think, ‘when I’m thin enough, I’ll be happy,’” says Dr Dorie, who describes herself as someone who was the wrong kind of dieter for 15 years. “A naturally thin person knows how to be happy first, beyond weight success. It’s freedom to enjoy your life. It’s about healthier relationships and being able to achieve the goals you want for yourself professionally. It’s finding the time to enjoy some pleasures in life, like the holidays you always wanted to take or the personal goals you always wanted to achieve. It’s having the energy and desire and ability to follow through on these things. It’s a fuller, richer life.”

What it isn’t is obsessing over every pound shed, minute spent exercising, calorie eaten, etc. Somewhere there has to be a happy medium between the apathy and the obsession. That’s where the seven secrets of naturally thin people come in. According to Dr Dorie, we’re all born naturally thin; however, it’s the way we think that takes away this mentality. It all begins when we go on our first diet, she says.

Dr Dorie is quick to point out there’s a big difference between being thin and being a naturally thin person. There are those who struggle with anorexia or rely on starvation to avoid weight gain. These people are engaging in unhealthy physical and mental behaviours. When it comes to weight loss, one size does not fit all, she says.

“There’s no one diet or meal plan or exercise plan that’s right for everybody. That’s what is great about this online plan - it customises slim. My approach supports that. You have to find a customised approach unique to your own needs.”

Before you can even get started on a healthy approach to dealing with your weight, it’s important to get in the right state of mind. Dr Dorie has the 7 healthy secrets of naturally thin people that can help you get one step closer.

Secret 1: Practice Intuitive Weight Maintenance
Naturally thin people have a stable weight and don’t worry what it is. Naturally thin people don’t weigh, measure or otherwise keep track of their bodies’ dimensions. You won’t even find a bathroom scale at the naturally thin person’s house. They don’t need to weigh themselves, because they trust their bodies to regulate their own weight. Sure, it is easy for people not to worry about their weight when it never changes. But does their weight not change because they don’t worry about it? What if constant worries make your weight fluctuate? What if you tried to think like naturally thin people instead, with an inner knowledge that your weight would stay stable?

Secret 2: Apply An Intuitive Attitude
Naturally thin people have a positive view of themselves and their lives. People who have never had a weight problem know that the key to happiness is in how they perceive themselves and their lives. They have a wonderful self-image because they have not allowed society’s pressure to influence them. Besides appearance, some people criticise themselves for their thoughts, feelings, behaviours - everything. How they see their bodies is a reflection of how they tend to see their entire lives. Have you been putting thinness before happiness? What kind of criticism have you been carrying with you? What positive thought can you carry with you instead?

Secret 3: Know Intuitively Why To Eat
Naturally thin people eat when they are hungry, but for other reasons as well. They eat because their bodies need fuel, but they also eat sometimes even if they are not hungry. People eat to fulfill physical need (75-100% of the time), physical desire (0-25% of the time) and emotional desire (0-10% of the time). The key is proportion: to be attuned to the body’s signals of what it needs, but also to eat once in a while out of desire. This involves using the body’s inner wisdom. It’s fine to eat something because you want to, or occasionally because you’re having a bad day. Enjoy that piece of cheesecake from the dessert tray, simply because it looks so good and you want to taste it. Have a custard-doughnut, because it’s your favourite comfort food and you’re feeling really stressed. Just be aware of what you are doing. Pay attention to why you are eating and make your choices in a conscious, proportioned way.

Secret 4: Know Intuitively What To Eat
Naturally thin people eat exactly what they are hungry for. They seem to have an inherent sense of what they really need. They’ll go out of their way to get what they are hungry for, even if it means making a shopping trip. If that’s not feasible, then they substitute another similar food. While eating, they are in tune with whether or not the food is satisfying their need, and they make adjustments in their intake accordingly. What happens when you make your food choices based on what you think you should eat? What are some of your “forbidden foods,” and what would it be like to let this label go? How do you feel after eating your current food choices? What foods would you like to try adding to your intake?

Secret 5: Know Intuitively How Much To Eat
Naturally thin people stop eating before they get too full. They often leave food on their plates when dining out, because the typical restaurant portion is more than a body needs. When dining at home, they often finished what is on their plates if they served themselves, because they are in tune with how much food their bodies will need and only put that much on their plates. A naturally thin person can even take a spoon and eat right from the container - then put the container away when they’ve had enough. Eat slowly, pay attention to how you feel as you get full and learn hot to recognise fullness cues.

Secret 6: Exercise With Intuition
Naturally thin people enjoy a variety of fitness activities in reasonable amounts. They exercise on a regular basis without going overboard. There is consistency without compulsivity. They use exercise guidelines, but in a way that honours their bodies’ needs. Some exercise for longer durations than others, and some work out at more advanced levels than others. Their bodies just seem to know how much exercise is right for them. Regardless of their level of conditioning, they all have some level of commitment to making fitness a part of their lives. They focus on what they really enjoy: running, cycling, swimming, aerobics or whatever.

Secret 7: Live An Intuitive Life
Naturally thin people have truly fulfilling lives (and it’s not because they are thin). Thinness is part of their experience, but it is not the source of their fulfillment. They have meaningful relationships with others. They enjoy significant experiences in both their professional and personal lives. They focus far beyond the number on the scale. Their focus is on enjoying life, exactly as it is, and making the best of things, exactly as they are. With this attitude of gratitude, they seem to attract more good into their lives automatically, without having to chase after it.

Last edited by artist; 05-23-2005 at 04:36 AM.
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Old 05-23-2005, 04:52 AM   #2  
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I don't think I agree with much of this. I don't know too many naturally thin people, most people have to work at keeping their weight at a normal level or they are going to end up gaining 50 lbs when their metabolism starts slowing down!
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Old 05-23-2005, 06:56 AM   #3  
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I know a lot of "naturally thin" people, my mum and sister are two of them and they do actually do all of that...completely "intuitively". Its uncanny sometimes to watch them eat...or not eat as they case may be. Mums a good case I guess, she is only about 5kgs (10 pounds) heavier now at 50 than she was the day she got married at 21 and thats after three kids! I used to be an intuitive eater and exerciser until depression took over and I decided to quiet the inner demons by stuffing food down their collective throats :P

Happily i'm now back to my old ways of eating with one or two differences...I eat a lot more fruit and salad these days and as a consequence I am actually now prone to dropping weight when I dont need too whereas before it just stayed stable.

However I dont think you can just tell someone this is how they have to act because by its definition "intuition" isnt a learned ability, it's something you just know, the old gut feeling. I do believe that people can learn to listen to their bodies again, its just that the bodies voice is MUCH quieter than that really loudspeaker that says "eat that donut...it'll taste sooo goood..."

Livi
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Old 05-23-2005, 07:51 AM   #4  
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Yeah, I'm gonna have to go ahead and say this whole article is total BS

Agreeing with Lyria, if they used the word "intuitively" one more time...you can't learn things that are intuitive! My intuition says, eat everything that tastes good! I would also like to point out that 90% of the "naturally thin" people I know don't exercise! Maybe they have more physical activity in their jobs or hime lives, but they don't go to the gym or do workout tapes or anything that requires setting aside time for workouts, ya know? Also, this article is really about maintaining your weight, not losing weight. These "secrets" may help us to not gain weight, but they'll not help us to lose. "Apply an Intuitive Attitude?" I know PLENTY of thin people who are depressed, stressed, angry, emotional--you name it. Being happy does NOT mean being thin!

"Have a custard-doughnut, because it’s your favourite comfort food and you’re feeling really stressed. Just be aware of what you are doing. Pay attention to why you are eating and make your choices in a conscious, proportioned way."---HAHAHAHAHAH! I am STRESSED every day! Does that mean I can have doughnuts every day and not gain weight, as long as I eat the other 75% of my meals out of hunger? Wouldn't that be a dream come true!

Alright, I'll stop my little rant now. I think ya'll see that I'm a little, hmm, skeptical
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Old 05-23-2005, 11:26 AM   #5  
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Ugh, how condescending. Yes, what she's saying is plain common sense and I'd like to think most of us here have that - its the other factors we have problems dealing with and they're not even addressed. If it was so bloody simple and cut and dried nobody would have a weight problem, would they?

I do know "naturally thin" people - some can eat without restraint and not gain weight, some don't find it difficult to control what they eat, some smoke and exercise incessently not to gain weight and yes, I know those who eat sensibly, exercise daily and try not to obsess about their weight. Come to think of it, those lastly mentioned people are not "naturally thin", but people who've lost weight and learned to successfully change their lifestyle.

P.S. - I don't like the idea of someone insinuating I don't have a fulfilling life, or meaningful relationships or enjoy significant experiences in my professional and personal life because I struggle with my weight. How patronizing.
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Old 05-23-2005, 12:11 PM   #6  
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Thank you for my Monday morning dose of horse poopey

I know several "naturally thin" people and most of them aren't happy with their lives. And I know several "naturally thin" people who are not leading "intuitive lives."

We all have our shortcomings, faults with our lives, whatever you want to call it. Mine happens to be that I'm obese. I also can be hateful and speak my mind. That doesn't make me a bad person nor does it mean my life is meaningful and fullfilled.
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Old 05-23-2005, 01:45 PM   #7  
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Ooh, great! I'm going to really concentrate on this bit and just think myself thin! /sarcasm

Quote:
[Naturally thin people]
They don’t need to weigh themselves, because they trust their bodies to regulate their own weight. Sure, it is easy for people not to worry about their weight when it never changes. But does their weight not change because they don’t worry about it? What if constant worries make your weight fluctuate? What if you tried to think like naturally thin people instead, with an inner knowledge that your weight would stay stable?
Bah!

My hubby is "naturally thin" and since I've been dieting I've also counted his daily intake of calories a dozen or so times because I wanted to prove to myself that I don't eat more than he does. He doesn't believe I do either. According to the figures, he requires somewhere in the region of 1880 cals per day in order to maintain his weight. Well, he actually eats well over 2500 every day, never exercises, and never gains a pound. Pfft!
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Old 05-24-2005, 01:33 PM   #8  
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My husband had a business partner that used to eat dinner with us four or five nights a week for about a year. I was accustomed to cooking according to the "cook once, eat twice" plan so I know this guy was eating every bit as much as the four of us in my family, and dh and I were both overweight. The partner stayed skinny.
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Old 05-24-2005, 01:49 PM   #9  
if only she'd lose weight
 
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I grew up next to someone who is 'naturally thin', and I can tell you some things. My mom's beautiful baby sister, 7 years older than me & like an icon to me growing up. Tall, blond, goofy, funny, a real knockout. All the guys adorrrrred her, all the girls wanted to be friends w/her. Can you imagine what it was like growing up w/her?? I love her to death, but it was hard not to compare myself constantly.

Sometimes they DO eat as much, if not more, than their heavier counterparts. And even though she is naturally thin, now after 4 kids, her boobs are UNnaturally large.

But the one thing I have noticed about her is this: she looks forward to good food just as much as me & my mom do, but she is able to stop at one scoop of custard, whereas my mom has 2, or a sundae, and I would have a pint. Same thing w/bratwurst, family-recipe potato salad, pizza, etc. She is satisfied w/just a small amount. And that, I feel, I DO need to glean from her habits.

Other than that, it was an interesting article to read. I wonder if *all* thin ppl feel that way about fat ppl? That we just aren't being "intuitive"??? Well, some days my intuition wants an entire package of those new peanut butter Double Stuff Oreos, or the Big Cup that Reese's brings out every summer. Or, a big plate of spaghetti & meatballs, or gramma's homemade ravioli & sauce. The list goes on. And because I'm NOT listening to intuition (which is saying, Aimeeeeeeeeeee, you loooooooove peanut butterrrrrrrrrrr, you neeeeeeeed the Oreooooooos), I'm able to lose, or at least maintain.

Thank you for posting the article, Claire. I like discussions like this.
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